Controlling Low Point for Irons

Read our ULTIMATE GUIDE to Ball Position: — ► Subscribe to USGolfTV: — The first concept that we have to talk about,” begins Todd Kolb, PGA Teaching Professional, “is by far the most important thing to becoming a great iron player. And that is controlling the low point.” Kolb is speaking on a course with…

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The first concept that we have to talk about,” begins Todd Kolb, PGA Teaching Professional, “is by far the most important thing to becoming a great iron player. And that is controlling the low point.”

Kolb is speaking on a course with a spackled fairway and a water hazard in the background as if to highlight the significance of iron play. Firstly, you never know what lie you’re going to get. Secondly, a poor shot can splash whenever water is present. Kolb put together a brief video with US Golf TV to educate golfers on the best way to flush irons consistently.

He argues that understanding the “low point” will is crucial to understanding iron play as a whole. What is the low point? In Kolb’s words, every golf swing is a circle, with each varying depending on the player. To illustrate this point, Kolb uses a hula hoop. He outlines different swing planes with his toy-turned-device. Where that hula hoop hits the ground, regardless of position, is the low point. For a club, this would be where the head of the club, ideally, makes contact with the ball.

How do you ensure that result? In the parlance of golf instruction, players must control their angle of attack. This angle, according to Kolb, should be two-four degrees, which means players hit the ball almost flush while contacting the back of the ball. This prevents both skulls and chunks.

Now, the low point might seem like a simple concept, but it’s one that can be difficult to grasp. “My low point is where I hit the ball.” Sort of. The challenge comes in making a consistent swing where the low point comes at contact and not before it, or, in the case of skulls, contact comes after the low point.

Kolb says there are three key reasons why a player might be struggling with controlling his low point.